It is, of course, generally known to utilize toilets when eliminating bodily waste, such as feces and/or urine. Typically, a user of a toilet must manipulate the toilet seat to properly utilize the toilet. For example, a toilet typically includes a toilet lid, and a toilet seat having an opening in the middle thereof. When necessary for sitting, a user generally sits on the toilet seat and evacuates waste into the basin of the toilet. A user of a toilet typically encounters a toilet with both the lid and the seat, or at least the seat in a downwardly disposed position. The user would then be required to lift the toilet lid, if the toilet seat is desired, or lift both the toilet lid and the toilet seat if sitting on the toilet seat is not desired. For example, if the user of the toilet was male and had to urinate, the user of the toilet would lift both the toilet lid and the toilet seat (or simply the toilet seat if no toilet lid was present) to expose the basin of the toilet, thereby minimizing the contact of urine with the toilet seat. Alternatively, if the user is female, or if the user is male and had to sit on the toilet seat, only the toilet lid would be required to be manipulated, thereby leaving the toilet seat for sitting thereon. In other cases, the toilet seat may be in a raised position, and it may be necessary to manipulate the toilet seat downwardly so as to be able to sit on the toilet seat or to close the seat and/or the lid.
Typically, toilet lids and toilet seats are pivoted devices, hinged at a base thereof for moving of the lid and/or the seat when necessary. Typically, when disposed upwardly away from the toilet basin, the lid and/or the seat remains in an upright position, typically being stopped by the toilet tank.
Toilet seats and/or lids, however, may be unsanitary. It is typical for a toilet to be used by many different individuals. When seated, a user's bare posterior typically contacts the toilet seat, and the toilet seat may, therefore, have a surface for the spread of microbes from one user of the toilet seat to another. It is estimated that a toilet seat contains about 50 germs per square inch, and that only 10 to 100 viral particles per square inch are necessary for the average person to contract a disease.
Moreover, each time a toilet flushes, the cascade of water through the toilet basin from the tank may throw microbes in all directions. It is also estimated that microbes may float around a bathroom for up to two hours after each flush, and thus it is recommended that toilet seats and lids be disposed over the basin so as to cover the same and minimize the spread of pathogens.
A need, therefore, exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same for manipulation of a toilet seat for raising and/or lowering the same to minimize contact between a user and the toilet seat. Moreover, a need exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same for decreasing the likelihood of disease transfer caused by pathogens on a toilet seat.
Moreover, many users of toilet seats are elderly and/or disabled, and the task of lifting a toilet seat for use thereof may not be simple or easy. For example, raising and/or lowering a toilet seat may require an individual to bend his or her back to grasp the toilet seat. For many people, even this simple task is or is nearly impossible. Moreover, although toilet seats are or may be relatively light, in many cases, they may still be too heavy for an individual to raise and or lower effectively.
A need, therefore, exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same allowing a user that may have difficulty manipulating a toilet seat. Moreover, a need exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same providing easier raising and/or lowering of the toilet seat by a user thereof.
Automatic toilet seat lifters or movers are generally known in the art. Specifically, it is generally known to utilize a lever or a motor for lifting a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid. However, relatively heavy duty and cumbersome levers and/or motors must be utilized, because toilet lids and/or toilet seats may be difficult to lift and/or lower effectively, due to the weight of the toilet lids and seats. This is so because the toilet lids and seats are pivoted, and rotated on a hinge or plurality of hinges at the lids' and/or seats' bases. A motor, to be effective, must be, by necessity, out of the way of a user who wishes to utilize the toilet. Thus, a lever and/or a motor that may be utilized to lift or lower a toilet lid and/or seat is typically disposed toward the hinge at or near a location where the toilet lid and/or seat has the least torque. A relatively large and cumbersome lever and/or motor must typically be used, requiring high energy consumption and a very powerful motor for lifting the lid and/or the seat.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same for minimizing the size of the motor required to lift and/or lower the lid and/or seat. Specifically, a need exists for an apparatus and methods of using the same for effectively counterbalancing the weight of the lid and/or the seat for allowing a relatively small motor to be utilized for lifting and/or lowering the lid and/or seat.